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Mountain
Guide's Course
The AMS Mountain Guide's course is designed for individuals wanting to
pursue guiding on high altitude, glaciated peaks. This is an advanced
course with high expectations of its students. All participants must be
experienced back country users with a background in general
mountaineering and 5th class climbing. Alaska's mountains are
uncompromising and present unique demands to the mountaineer. This
course provides a forum for teaching mountaineering skills, practicing
advanced rescue techniques, and leading Denali expeditions. Features of This
Course - Review snow and technical ice climbing
techniques
- Review glacier travel and crevasse rescue techniques
- Review glacier camping techniques for extreme environments: walls,
caves, igloos, trenches, probing, kitchens, latrines
- Peak ascents:
various belays and fixed line techniques, route finding, problem solving
applied to suitable objectives
- Teaching and guiding techniques:
leadership and communication, managing hazards with students and clients
- Avalanche curriculum: mechanics, transceiver use, snow morphology,
identification & avoidance
- Rescue procedures: litters, short roping,
lowering systems
- First aid classes: frostbite, hypothermia,
altitude-related illnesses
- Potential for severe weather
- 1:3
instructor/student ratio
Expedition
Style & Remoteness
AMS mountaineering courses are self-reliant expeditions which travel in remote mountain ranges of
Alaska.
Throughout the course, students live in the outdoors, learn to
prepare their own meals, and care for themselves. The course format
emphasizes hands-on learning and the application of new skills in a
variety of terrain. From these areas, evacuation to modern medical
facilities can be difficult and take days if the weather is unflyable.
Your course models after a simulated Mt. McKinley expedition.
Environment
Mountaineering courses fly into
Denali National Park & Preserve, home to North America's biggest and
wildest mountains. The exact location depends on conditions and
instructor preference. Typically, we fly into one of the following
mountain groups: Ruth Gorge, Little Switzerland, or Eldridge. Each of
these areas, with their variety of mountains, beauty and isolation are
challenging and demand respect. Course routes are classic for a
mountaineering expedition in Alaska.
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Expect to be on snow for the
duration of your course. Weather of all varieties is to be expected:
wind, snow, rain, and beautifully clear and calm days. The First
Day
We will meet for gear check at AMS headquarters in
Talkeetna at 9:00 a.m. on the starting day of your course. Those
taking the shuttle from Anchorage on the first day usually arrive
between 10:00-10:30. After checking equipment, issuing any items you
need, and having lunch, we may practice fixed line ascension or
immediately fly on to the glacier. Courses fly onto the glacier in
ski-equipped fixed wing Cessna 185's. The flight into Denali Park is
spectacular and a memorable highlight to the course and the quickest way
to access the snowy peaks. This is a busy day, so please take care of
all personal business before you arrive. Course
Progression
The Guide's course begins with a review of
the basic curriculum for any Alaska mountaineering expedition: how to
route-find safely on glaciers with a group, with the rescue of each
other and self rescue in the event of a crevasse fall. Simultaneously,
we will be practicing glacier camping while living in probed, wanded and
wall protected areas. Course progression continues with the application
of these skills to real scenarios and many of their unexpected
situations. Course routes strike a balance between base camping and
moving
camp to experience a variety of terrain . Technical and
non-technical peak ascents provide opportunities to review specific
hazard management techniques such as fixing lines and running
protection. Guiding protocols and techniques unique to Alaska and
standards proposed by the AMGA are discussed and practiced. Instructors
provide written evaluations at the end of the course. The Mountain
Guide's course is a graduate level experience which prepares students
for a leadership role in the mountaineering profession.
The last day will be spent traveling to our air strip and flying back to
Talkeetna. Once in Talkeetna, we will de-issue any rental equipment,
clean group gear, exchange evaluations, and enjoy a salmon barbecue. Be
aware that, while unlikely, the weather does not always cooperate with
our schedule and delays in and out of the mountains can occur.
Course
Objectives
Every course varies in route, group dynamics,
and environmental conditions. Working with these variables, instructors
strive for the following goals for each student: Safety
& Judgment
AMS teaches mountaineering skills which promote
the health and safety of all expedition members. Each graduate is
expected to: - demonstrate knowledge of the hazards in a glaciated
mountain
- demonstrate an emergency plan for a summit day gone wrong
- participate in making sound decisions affecting the health and
safety of the expedition
- display knowledge of personal limitations,
and the judgment to stay within them
Leadership &
Teamwork
Students are exposed to theory and practice of outdoor
leadership, teamwork and expedition behavior. Each graduate is expected
to: - work effectively as a team member
- demonstrate sound
expedition behavior: commitment to the group, a positive attitude, and
cooperation to achieve group goals
- effectively communicate ideas and
concerns with individuals and within a group
- show initiative in
teaching and leading peers, teach one class in an area of their choice
- employ leadership styles appropriate to the situation; support
others in the leadership role
- use decision-making and planning
skills to participate fully in a safe, environmentally sound expedition
Environmental Ethics
An important part of every
course is to instill Leave-No-Trace ethics into our expedition strategy.
Each graduate is expected to: - perform minimum impact living
and traveling skills appropriate to a glaciated environment
- show
respect for pristine wilderness and fostering respect in others
Winter Camping & Glacier Travel
AMS courses focus on back
country skills which are safe for the individual and environment. Each
graduate is expected to: - live comfortably and efficiently in a
glaciated mountain environment: camping, cooking, and dressing for a
variety of conditions
- travel competently using safe and efficient
navigation and route-finding techniques to reduce and avoid hazards
- demonstrate roped glacier travel techniques using skis or snow shoes
and lead rope a team
- take responsibility for the organization,
maintenance and repair of group and personal equipment
Mountaineering Skills
Learning the skills to effectively guide
high altitude mountains and technically difficult alpine climbs is the
main goal of AMS' Mountain Guide's Course. Each graduate is expected
to: - demonstrate a teachable knowledge of basic and advanced
knots and rope handling techniques
- demonstrate a teachable knowledge
of crampon and ice ax techniques for snow, ice and/or mixed terrain
- demonstrate a teachable knowledge of mountaineering belay skills:
fixed line, running belays, glacier travel, 5th class
- competently
set up rope teams for glacier travel
- consistently perform
appropriate techniques to reduce and avoid hazards
- recognize and
evaluate avalanche terrain
- demonstrate the ability to remain
composed and thoughtful in difficult and exposed terrain
- competently
lead a rope team on a safe route on a glacier
- rescue a victim of a
crevasse fall, avalanche, altitude illness, or climbing fall
- establish a skill base to guide a Mt. McKinley expedition or assist
on an AMS mountaineering course
[Click For Graduates' Comments]
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